Alberta Provincial Highway No. 55, commonly referred to as Highway 55, is a long east–west highway in northeast
Alberta
Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
, Canada.
It extends from the
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
border in the east through the
Cold Lake,
Lac La Biche, and
Athabasca where it ends at
Highway 2. In Saskatchewan, it continues as
Saskatchewan Highway 55.
The entire length of Highway 55 comprises the easternmost segment of Alberta's portion of the
Northern Woods and Water Route (NWWR). West of Athabasca, the Northern Woods and Water Route continues westward along Highway 2 and then
Highway 49.
History
The original designation Highway 55 was a long north-south highway that appeared on maps in the mid-1950s and connected
Fort Saskatchewan with
Highway 16, just east of
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
.
In 1973, Alberta established its secondary highway system along mostly existing unimproved roads, with ''
Secondary Highway 662'' running between
Highway 36 and Cold Lake, and ''
Secondary Highway 664'' running between Athabasca and
Donatville.
The idea of a northern highway corridor between
Dawson Creek, British Columbia and
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...
was originally lobbied by George Stevenson, a retired
CN employee who lived in
McLennan, Alberta. The communities along the proposed corridor supported his idea and eventually resulted in the incorporation of the Northern Woods and Water Route Association in the
western provinces 1974.
As part of establishing the corridor in northeastern Alberta, two secondary highways (662 and 664), along with
Highway 28X and a portion of
Highway 46 were renumbered to Highway 55 in , matching Saskatchewan Highway 55, while the original route east of Edmonton became part of
Highway 21.
Highway 55 was paved throughout the 1980s.
;Former Highways
Major intersections
From west to east:
References
External links
Northern Woods and Water Route
{{Alberta Provincial Highways, Hwy=yes
055
Northern Woods and Water Route
Athabasca, Alberta
Cold Lake, Alberta